<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Two Old Pros by drneroisgod</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28270521">Two Old Pros</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/drneroisgod/pseuds/drneroisgod'>drneroisgod</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>H.I.V.E. Series - Mark Walden</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Because this story is meant to be a nice nice story, F/M, New Baby, Parenthood, and they are just coming to be helpful!, but what you may not be prepared for!, is that nero and darkdoom are in fact the legendary mary poppins, quarantine vibes also!!, the struggle is real for tahir</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 21:27:41</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,763</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28270521</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/drneroisgod/pseuds/drneroisgod</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Tahir Khan struggles to manage new parenthood alone after his girlfriend's disappearance, but the arrival of Dr. Nero and Diabolus Darkdoom help him bridge the worst of it.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Maximilian Nero &amp; Diabolus Darkdoom, Maximilian Nero &amp; Tahir Khan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>H.I.V.E. Gift Exchange 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Two Old Pros</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/nebulousviolet/gifts">nebulousviolet</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>C asked for a line of Tahir Khan in my fic but I just need things to be exactly the way I want them all the time, so I decided Tahir would have to have his own dang story because my other story is about something completely else!</p>
<p>You may ask, why didn't you just post this and then only have one story for the gift exchange reveal? But here's the thing, then C would know who I was, because who else is going to ask for Tahir Khan fic? Exactly.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tahir thought he knew tired. He spent his adolescence in one of the most rigorous academic programs he’d ever heard of. Early morning runs, late night cramming sessions, caffeine hangovers, surviving a night on a deserted island—he thought he’d seen it all.</p>
<p>And then he graduated. And then he accepted a position as a team leader in one of G.L.O.V.E.’s most selective programs. And then he found a girlfriend, Manal. And for a year, it was perfect. By day, the energetic competition between their teams led to successful mission after successful mission. By night? Well, that had an energy of a different kind.</p>
<p>And then—and then.</p>
<p>Pregnancy, moving in together, phone calls to the family—yes, we’re having a baby; no, we’re not getting married—her transition to a desk job at work, and then, the birth, and the smattering of firsts that accompany the haze of new parenthood.</p>
<p>They named their son Kashif and though he was the finest child Tahir had ever seen, he was something of a fussy baby, and so, after three months of midnight feedings and half-asleep diaper changes, Tahir, again, thought he knew tired—he doubted he could be any more tired!</p>
<p>And then Manal went back to work. And then she had her first mission in the field for the first time in more than six months. And then, she never came back. </p>
<p>Not dead. Just missing.</p>
<p>That’s what Tahir was telling himself, in the third week of her absence. She’d come back. She had to, didn’t she?</p>
<p>He took leave from work and care of the baby. He did not remember the last time he had spoken to someone other than his mother—she was becoming more insistent that he come stay with her, at least for the time being. But Tahir couldn’t. What if Manal came back? He couldn’t just leave. The baby was regularly fed and changed. Wasn’t that enough? And so the heaping piles of laundry, the unmade beds and the precariously-stacked dishes, the filthy bathrooms, they all kept their course and heading toward entropy as Tahir tried to find his footing alone. </p>
<p>And then the doorbell rang.</p>
<p>Kashif began crying, of course—he’d been on the brink of falling asleep—and Tahir dandled him robotically as he lumbered downstairs to the door. He couldn’t imagine who would be calling. His teammates were out on mission, and Manal’s were, of course, missing. Unless his mother had managed to bully her way through five levels of security clearance, he really could not imagine who could have come to call. Tahir opened the door.</p>
<p>“Mr. Khan,” said Dr. Maximilian Nero, his voice pleasant. “We’re so sorry to intrude, but we were told you might have a binary subsistor apparatus handy, and we were wondering if we might be able to borrow it for a few hours?”</p>
<p><em> Am I dreaming? </em> Tahir thought to himself, staring stupidly at Nero for a few extra beats. Behind him stood Diabolus Darkdoom, the most famous supervillain of all time. <em> What is happening right now? </em></p>
<p>“Tahir?” Nero asked, searching his eyes for recognition. </p>
<p>“Oh,” Tahir said, trying to recover. “The subsistor. Of course. Please, come in.”</p>
<p>He stepped aside and allowed Nero and Darkdoom—<em> the </em> Diabolus Darkdoom!—into his apartments. All at once, Tahir realized he was wearing little more than an undershirt and sweatpants, neither of which had been changed in at least a week. The mess he’d been ignoring came into full technicolor glory, the stains, crumbs, smells, and disorganized piles of junk all in the open for his mentor’s and his hero’s scrutiny. He probably looked like the least villainous person they’d ever seen in their lives.</p>
<p><em> Don’t cry</em>, he thought to himself, gritting his teeth. <em> Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry. </em></p>
<p>“I believe your tenure at H.I.V.E. ended before Diabolus made his return from beyond the grave,” Nero said. “But I’m sure you’re familiar with him and his work.”</p>
<p>“Of course,” Tahir said.</p>
<p>“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Darkdoom said. “I’d shake your hand, but I can see your arms are full. And thank you for helping us, again.”</p>
<p>“It’s no trouble at all. Um, the subsistor’s just back here.” Tahir led them through the biohazard that was his kitchen and into the back office. That, mercifully, was at least passably clean. Neither he nor Manal had found the time to venture back there for, oh, four months or so. </p>
<p>A notepad with her handwriting lay open on the desk. Tahir looked away. The subsistor was on the desk, ready and available for use.</p>
<p>“Feel free to use it for as long as you need,” he said.</p>
<p>“That’s very generous of you, thank you,” Nero replied, kindly. “Especially when you’re on leave. Congratulations on your son. How old is he?”</p>
<p>Kashif took this as his opportunity to begin crying again. Tahir did his best to speak over the squalling baby. “Thank you, sir. Eighteen weeks, but we’re still, um, getting to know each other.”</p>
<p>Darkdoom held out his arms for the baby, which should have been odd, but, Tahir thought, it was no stranger than Nero and Darkdoom showing up on his doorstep out of the blue to borrow an obscure tracking apparatus. Kashif only exclaimed a little at the exchange; once in the crook of Darkdoom’s elbow, he settled remarkably quickly. </p>
<p>“You know,” Darkdoom said. “We could be a few hours. We don’t mind watching him if you’d like to get some rest.”</p>
<p>“He’s right, Mr. Khan,” Nero said. “You do look… overtaxed.”</p>
<p>Tahir looked at them, stupidly, again. “Really?”</p>
<p>“Don’t worry about us,” Darkdoom assured him. “We’ll just be downstairs if something goes awry. What’s your son’s name, by the way?”</p>
<p>“Kashif,” he replied numbly. “Well, um, I’ll just be upstairs, then.”</p>
<p>Tahir had never left Kashif with anyone else before. As he walked up the stairs, he couldn’t help but feel a prickle of anxiety, even if the baby was only downstairs. Was it wise, really, to leave his infant son in the hands of the most dangerous supervillain in the world? On the other hand, was there anywhere safer for him? After all, if Tahir couldn’t trust his own schoolmaster with his son, then what hope for the world was there, really?</p>
<p>And then Tahir found his bed and fell into the first uninterrupted sleep he’d had in a very, very long time. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tahir woke without urgency—the baby was not crying, and he had nowhere to be. He listened to the quiet of the house for a few minutes. For all that the baby cried, the house had been too quiet, lately, and it gave the house a lonely feeling he didn’t quite know how to describe.</p>
<p>He took his time, tidied the room a little, showered, got dressed. He realized he liked the way his hair looked when it was combed. </p>
<p><em> I need to go to my mom’s house</em>, he thought to himself, staring in the mirror. He didn’t know how he’d managed to put that thought off so long.</p>
<p>He went downstairs. He wasn’t surprised to find that the dishes had been cleared and placed in the dishwasher, or that some of Kashif’s toys had been returned to the toy basket. When Dr. Nero offered his help, he offered it completely. That had helped him, once, when he’d gotten into a rough spot in school. And it was helping him now.</p>
<p>“Maybe so,” Nero’s voice carried from the office. “But I think if we’re clever with our strategy, we could double our holdings along the Ivory Coast and with minimal losses to G.L.O.V.E.”</p>
<p>“But do you think the council will be willing to approach this issue if there isn’t any government corruption involved?” Darkdoom replied thoughtfully. “We’re so accustomed to institutional projects that more fluid, shall we say, missions seem risky based on their unfamiliarity.”</p>
<p>“Well, what is the point if we are not pioneers?” Nero asked. “We could do with something new around here.”</p>
<p>Tahir tapped on the doorway lightly.</p>
<p>“Welcome back, Mr. Khan,” Nero said, smiling. “You look much refreshed.”</p>
<p>“And I’m feeling it, too,” Tahir replied gratefully. “I can’t thank you enough.”</p>
<p>“It was no trouble at all,” Darkdoom said, passing the sleeping Kashif back into his father’s arms. He was in a clean onesie. “I remember when my Nigel was this age. I didn’t think I’d ever get anything done again.”</p>
<p>“And keep the faith,” Nero said, rising and straightening his jacket. “I know they’re sending out another rescue team in the next few days. You may have news about Manal in the next week or two.”</p>
<p>“It’s been hard to manage without her,” Tahir admitted. “I think I’ll go stay with my mother, at least until we know.”</p>
<p>Not dead, just missing. But false hope was cruel in its own way, too, and Tahir would remember that.</p>
<p>“That sounds like an excellent plan,” Nero said, clapping Tahir’s shoulder, herding their small band towards the door.</p>
<p>“The next time we see you, I expect you two will be old pros at this,” Darkdoom grinned.</p>
<p>And then there were apologies about being able to stay, a rendezvous they needed to keep with Raven, well wishes, more thanks, and then it was Tahir and Kashif alone in their house again. </p>
<p>Tahir stared at the door, hardly believing that his afternoon had turned out as well as it did. He looked down at the baby.</p>
<p>“I never offered them anything to drink,” he said, horrified.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>And then two weeks passed. Kashif enjoyed his first plane flight to Tahir’s family home, and under his mother’s tutelage, Tahir found himself tired—but considerably less so than when he’d tried to go it alone. Tahir changed clothes every day and considered this a great victory.</p>
<p>He was ready for it when the phone rang.</p>
<p>“Tahir? It’s me. I’m home. I’m safe.”</p>
<p>Tahir swallowed. “Alhamdulillah. We’re at my mother’s house. Are you hurt? What happened?”</p>
<p>Manal told him everything, even the scary parts. They wanted to focus on the positive. She was safe. She was alive. The baby was in good health and the house was still waiting for them. They’d survived this very bad thing, and could start back on the path together.</p>
<p>“You’ll never guess who showed up on our doorstep a couple weeks ago,” Tahir said, pulling his suitcase from the closet. </p>
<p>“Who?” she asked.</p>
<p>And then, as he told her the story, he packed their things for the trip back home. </p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>